The present invention relates to the discovery of novel, low molecular weight, non-peptide inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases (e.g. gelatinases, stromelysins and collagenases) and TNF-.alpha. converting enzyme (TACE, tumor necrosis factor-.alpha. converting enzyme) which are useful for the treatment of diseases in which these enzymes are implicated such as arthritis, tumor metastatis, tissue ulceration, abnormal wound healing, periodontal disease, bone disease, proteinuria, aneurysmal aortic disease, degenerative cartilage loss following traumatic joint injury, demyelinating diseases of the nervous system and HIV infection.
Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a group of enzymes that have been implicated in the pathological destruction of connective tissue and basement membranes [Woessner, J. F., Jr. FASEB J. 1991, 5, 2145; Birkedal-Hansen, H.; Moore, W. G. I.; Bodden, M. K.; Windsor, L. J.; Birkedal-Hansen, B.; DeCarlo, A.; Engler, J. A. Crit. Rev. Oral Biol. Med. 1993, 4, 197; Cawston, T. E. Pharmacol. Ther. 1996, 70, 163; Powell, W. C.; Matrisian, L. M. Cur. Top. Microbiol. and Immunol. 1996, 213, 1]. These zinc containing endopeptidases consist of several subsets of enzymes including collagenases, stromelysins and gelatinases. Of these classes, the gelatinases have been shown to be the MMPs most intimately involved with the growth and spread of tumors, while the collagenases have been associated with the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis [Howell, D. S.; Pelletier, J. -P. In Arthritis and Allied Conditions; McCarthy, D. J.; Koopman, W. J., Eds.; Lea and Febiger: Philadelphia, 1993; 12th Edition Vol. 2, pp. 1723; Dean, D. D. Sem. Arthritis Rheum. 1991, 20, 2; Crawford, H. C; Matrisian, L. M. Invasion Metast. 1994-95, 14, 234; Ray, J. M.; Stetler-Stevenson, W. G. Exp. Opin. Invest. Drugs, 1996, 5, 323].
It is known that the level of expression of gelatinase is elevated in malignancies, and that gelatinase can degrade the basement membrane which may lead to tumor metastasis [Powell, W. C.; Matrisian, L. M. Cur. Top. Microbiol. and Immunol. 1996, 213, 1; Crawford. H. C; Matrisian, L. M. Invasion Metast. 1994-95, 14, 234; Ray, J. M.; Stetler-Stevenson, W. G. Exp. Opin. Invest. Drugs, 1996, 5, 323; Himelstein, B. P.; Canete-Soler, R.; Bernhard, E. J.; Dilks, D. W.; Muschel, R. J. Invasion Metast. 1994-95, 14, 246; Nuovo, G. J.; MacConnell, P. B.; Simsir, A.; Valea, F.; French, D. L. Cancer Res. 1995, 55, 267-275; Walther, M. M.; Levy, A.; Hurley, K.; Venzon, D.; Linehen, W. M.; Stetler-Stevenson, W. J. Urol. 1995, 153 (Suppl. 4), 403A; Tokuraku, M; Sato, H.; Murakami, S.; Okada, Y.; Watanabe, Y.; Seiki, M. Int. J. Cancer, 1995, 64, 355; Himelstein, B.; Hua, J.; Bernhard, E.; Muschel, R. J. Proc. Am. Assoc. Cancer Res. Ann. Meet. 1996, 37, 632; Ueda, Y.; Imai, K.; Tsuchiya, H.; Fujimoto, N.; Nakanishi, I.; Katsuda, S.; Seiki, M.; Okada, Y. Am. J. Pathol. 1996, 148, 611; Gress, T. M.; Mueller-Pillasch, F.; Lerch, M. M.; Friess, H.; Buechler, M.; Adler, G. Int. J. Cancer, 1995, 62, 407; Kawashima, A.; Nakanishi, I.; Tsuchiya, H.; Roessner, A.; Obata, K.; Okada, Y. Virchows Arch., 1994, 424, 547-552.]. Angiogenesis, required for the growth of solid tumors, has also recently been shown to have a gelatinase component to its pathology [Crawford, H. C; Matrisian, L. M. Invasion Metast. 1994-95, 14, 234; Ray, J. M.; Stetler-Stevenson, W. G. Exp. Opin. Invest. Drugs, 1996, 5, 323.]. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that gelatinase is involved in plaque rupture associated with atherosclerosis [Dollery, C. M.; McEwan, J. R.; Henney, A. M. Circ. Res. 1995, 77, 863; Zempo, N.; Koyama, N.; Kenagy, R. D.; Lea, H. J.; Clowes, A. W. Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 1996, 16, 28; Lee, R. T.; Schoen, F. J.; Loree, H. M.; Lark, M. W., Libby, P. Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 1996, 16, 1070.]. Other conditions mediated by MMPs are restenosis, MMP-mediated osteopenias, inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system, skin aging, tumor growth, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, septic arthritis, corneal ulceration, abnormal wound healing, bone disease, proteinuria, aneurysmal aortic disease, degenerative cartilage loss following traumatic joint injury, demyelinating diseases of the nervous system, cirrhosis of the liver, glomerular disease of the kidney, premature rupture of fetal membranes, inflammatory bowel disease, periodontal disease, age related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, proliferative vitreoretinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, ocular inflammation, keratoconus, Sjogren's syndrome, myopia, ocular tumors, ocular angiogenesis/neovascularization and corneal graft rejection.
The hypothesis that MMPs are important mediators of the tissue destruction that occurs in arthritis has long been considered, since it was first recognized that these enzymes are capable of degrading collagens and proteoglycans which are the major structural components of cartilage [Sapolsky, A. I.; Keiser, H.; Howell, D. S.; Woessner, J. F., Jr.; J. Clin. Invest. 1976, 58, 1030; Pelletier, J. -P.; Martel-Pelletier, J.; Howell, D. S.; Ghandur-Mnaymneh, L.; Enis, J. E.; Woessner, J. F., Woessner, J. F., Jr., Arthritis Rheum. 1983, 26, 63.], and continues to develop as new MMPs are identified. For example, collagenase-3 (MMP-13) was cloned from breast cancer cells in 1994, and the first report that it could be involved in arthritis appeared in 1995 [Freiji, J. M.; Diez-Itza, I.; Balbin, M.; Sanchez, L. M.; Blasco, R.; Tolivia, J.; Lopez-Otin, C. J. Biol. Chem. 1994, 269, 16766; Flannery, C. R.; Sandy, J. D. 102-17, 41st Ann. Meet. Orth. Res. Soc. Orlando, Fla. Feb. 13-16, 1995.]. Evidence is accumulating that implicates MMP-13 in the pathogenesis of arthritis. A major structural component of articular cartilage, type II collagen, is the preferred substrate for MMP-13 and this enzyme is significantly more efficient at cleaving type II collagen that the other collagenases [Knauper, V.; Lopez-Otin, C.; Smith, B.; Knight, G.; Murphy, G. J. Biol. Chem., 1996, 271, 1544-1550; Mitchell, P. G.; Magna, H. A.; Reeves, L. M.; Lopresti-Morrow, L. L.; Yocum, S. A.; Rosner, P. J.; Geoghegan, K. F.; Hambor, J. E. J. Clin. Invest. 1996, 97, 761.]. MMP-13 is produced by chondrocytes, and elevated levels of MMP-13 has been found in human osteoarthritic tissues [Reboul, P.; Pelletier, J-P.; Hambor, J.; Magna, H.; Tardif, G.; Cloutier, J-M.; Martel-Pelletier, J. Arthritis Rheum. 1995, 38 (Suppl. 9), S268; Shlopov, B. V.; Mainardi, C. L.; Hasty, K. A. Arthritis Rheum. 1995, 38 (Suppl. 9), S313; Reboul, P.; Pelletier, J-P.; Tardif, G.; Cloutier, J-M.; Martel-Pelletier, J. J. Clin. Invest. 1996, 7, 2011]. Potent inhibitors of MMPs were described over 10 years ago, but the poor bioavailability of these early peptidic, substrate mimetic MMP inhibitors precluded their evaluation in animal models of arthritis. More bioavailable, non-peptidic MMP inhibitors may be preferred for the treatment of diseases mediated by MMPs.
TNF-.alpha. converting enzyme catalyzes the formation of TNF-.alpha. from membrane bound TNF-.alpha. precursor protein. TNF-.alpha. is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that is now thought to have a role in rheumatoid arthritis, septic shock, graft rejection, insulin resistance and HIV infection in addition to its well documented antitumor properties. For example, research with anti-TNF-.alpha. antibodies and transgenic animals has demonstrated that blocking the formation of TNF-.alpha. inhibits the progression of arthritis [Rankin, E. C.; Choy, E. H.; Kassimos, D.; Kingsley, G. H.; Sopwith, A. M.; Isenberg, D. A.; Panayi, G. S. Br. J. Rheumatol. 1995, 34, 334; Pharmaprojects, 1996, Therapeutic Updates 17 (Oct.), au197-M2Z.]. This observation has recently been extended to humans as well. Other conditions mediated by TNF-.alpha. are congestive heart failure, cachexia, anorexia, inflammation, fever, inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, and inflammatory bowel disease.
It is expected that small molecule inhibitors of gelatinase and TACE therefore have the potential for treating a variety of disease states. While a variety of MMP and TACE inhibitors have been identified and disclosed in the literature, the vast majority of these molecules are peptidic or peptide-like compounds that may have bioavailability and pharmacokinetic problems that would limit their clinical effectiveness. Low molecular weight, potent, long-acting, orally bioavailable inhibitors of gelatinases, collagenases and/or TACE are therefore highly desirable for the potential chronic treatment of the above mentioned disease states. Several non-peptide, sulfur-containing hydroxamic acids have recently been disclosed and are listed below.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,455,258, 5,506,242 and 5,552,419, as well as European patent application EP606,046A1 and WIPO international publications WO96/00214 and WO97/22587 disclose non-peptide matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors of which the compound CGS27023A is representative. The discovery of this type of MMP inhibitor is further detailed by MacPherson, et. al. in J. Med. Chem., (1997), 40, 2525. Additional publications disclosing sulfonamide based MMP inhibitors which are variants of the sulfonamide-hydroxamate shown below, or the analogous sulfonamide-carboxylates, are European patent application EP-757984-A1 and WIPO international publications WO95/35275, WO95/35276, WO96/27583, WO97/19068 and WO97/27174. ##STR2##
Publications disclosing .beta.-sulfonamide-hydroxamate MMP inhibitor analogs of CGS 27023A in which the carbon alpha to the hydroxamic acid has been joined in a ring to the sulfonamide nitrogen, as shown below, include WIPO international publications WO96/33172 and WO97/20824. ##STR3##
The German patent application DE19,542,189-A1 discloses additional examples of cylic sulfonamides as MMP inhibitors. In this case the sulfonamide-containing ring is fused to a phenyl ring to form an isoquinoline. ##STR4##
Analogs of the sulfonamide-hydroxamate MMP inhibitors in which the sulfonamide nitrogen has been replaced by a carbon atom, as shown in the general structure below, are European patent application EP-780386-A1 and WIPO international publication WO97/24117. ##STR5##